Judging by Acie's extended benching, his days are numbered...

[HAWKS1986]

Devin Harris is playing scary good right now and has definitely been an impact player. Bibby at his advanced age is getting the job done on most nights, but Acie will be 25 in January and Devin is 26. I would like to see an emerging, dynamic guard who is a franchise player, but as each day goes by, it is becoming crystal clear that Acie is done in Atlanta unless something bad happens to Bibby and or Flip.

Dime Magazine had wrote this about Acie..

I watched Hawks/Wizards last night and saw a couple guys whose ability to “make it” is in serious doubt. The first is Acie Law IV. While fellow ‘07 Lottery pick Al Horford is turning into a star in Atlanta, Acie is playing single-digit minutes and has basically faded into the background as far as being a relevant player in the League.

Devin plays with a confidence and NBA I.Q. that Law has failed to exude on the court and its a shame that Acie's Law's days are numbered at the age of 25. If he could be packaged in a deal to get a center such as Marcus Camby that would be great. However, I would have loved to see the same Acie Law that was fantastic at Texas A=M making one big shot after big shot in big game situations. Unfortunately, under Woody's coaching style we will never know and its time to find a team for Acie where he can grow and this Hawks' team needs to find someone who can fit into the Hawks program so we can WIN vs the NBA's best teams.

Right now Woody is scared to put Acie on the court..that isn't a good sign

[Popeye]

I just saw him, he came to this restaurant that i do valet for. He is a cool guy, I hope he makes it.

[Frenzy]

I just love seeing Stuckey go for 40 while Acie struggles to get minutes

[coachx]

Devin Harris is playing scary good right now and has definitely been an impact player. Bibby at his advanced age is getting the job done on most nights, but Acie will be 25 in January and Devin is 26. I would like to see an emerging, dynamic guard who is a franchise player, but as each day goes by, it is becoming crystal clear that Acie is done in Atlanta unless something bad happens to Bibby and or Flip.

Dime Magazine had wrote this about Acie..

I watched Hawks/Wizards last night and saw a couple guys whose ability to “make it” is in serious doubt. The first is Acie Law IV. While fellow ‘07 Lottery pick Al Horford is turning into a star in Atlanta, Acie is playing single-digit minutes and has basically faded into the background as far as being a relevant player in the League.

Devin plays with a confidence and NBA I.Q. that Law has failed to exude on the court and its a shame that Acie's Law's days are numbered at the age of 25. If he could be packaged in a deal to get a center such as Marcus Camby that would be great. However, I would have loved to see the same Acie Law that was fantastic at Texas A=M making one big shot after big shot in big game situations. Unfortunately, under Woody's coaching style we will never know and its time to find a team for Acie where he can grow and this Hawks' team needs to find someone who can fit into the Hawks program so we can WIN vs the NBA's best teams.

Right now Woody is scared to put Acie on the court..that isn't a good sign

Good post ! I'm going to some spin off of it:

Remember Devin Harris in Dallas. Then coach, Avery Johnson, ran a tight ship and had a short leash on Devin Harris. As Mark Jackson loves to say, a player has have the leash to "trust their game." Well, Harris was playing on egg shells while under Avery in Dallas. However, when a vet, like Jason Kidd gets there, he is able to do whatever he wants.

Harris then gets shipped to NJ where he has blossomed. He is without question the best PG in the Eastern Conference ! He will be, without question, the reason NJ goes to the playoffs. Why ? Coach Frank gives him some leash and lets him simply "play and trust his game."

The same thing is going on in Atlanta except the vet is not a Hall of Famer, he is not an allstar, he is not even a proven starter, he is not even a PG, he is a journeyman SG named Flip Murray. Flip gets all the leash he wants. He can commit back to back turnovers and then hoist up a 3 point shot before running an offensive play and Woody simply continues to stick with him. Mean while, Law's leash has grown so short he can't get off the bench.............Its not like when Law get a chance he does not show flashes of a solid PG.

[Kimsey]

To be fair to D. Harris, he is better in every aspect of the game than Acie. But I get the gist of it and Acie should be at the very least a productive back up right now.

Looking at the the ten picked right after Acie...

12. Thad Young - Would be pushing MW for playing time, great six-seven man.

13. Julian Wright - See 12 to a lesser extent.

14. Al Thornton - See 12.

15. Rodney Stuckey - no comment.

16. Nick Young - Great understudy for JJ, would make Flip sit between Solo and Morris.

17. Sean Williams - Talented with potential but inconsistent.

18. Marco Belinelli - See 16.

19. J. Crittenton - Same situation with acie right now.

20. Jason Smith - Would be great back up to either Al or JS.

21. D. Cook - A very good back up SG.

[coachx]

To be fair to D. Harris, he is better in every aspect of the game than Acie. But I get the gist of it and Acie should be at the very least a productive back up right now.

Of course ! Harris is the best freaking PG in the Eastern Conference ! However, if Harris continued to play under Avery Johnson he would have never had the leash to grow into the player he is this season. Law will like never be the best PG of a conference but at the very least he can be a solid NBA PG.....more of PG the Flip ever was or ever will be.

Like Law is no Harris, Flip is no Jason Kidd either, but glad you got the gist of the illustration.

I wonder if Woody would have treated Stuckey any different from Law ? Without any leash, Stuckey may be in the same boat as Law.

Stuckey had the privaledge with playing with a veteran team in his rookie season. The Hawks had the opposite situation last season. Woody was so worried about his job I wonder if any rookie PG (or in Stuckey's case, combo guard) would have gotten a chance.

Edited December 24, 2008 by coachx

[frankthetank966]

Acie is NOT struggling. Woody just is not playing him.

[DeacKillsaDevil]

If Acie was the next Devin Harris, he would be getting a lot more PT.

[Chris18]

Acie just doesn't have any type of offense right now. His jumpshot is terrible and he doesn't finish at the rim very well but he still sets other people up for good shots. I think he still needs to get 15 minutes a night to help his confidence and to see if he can improve.

[jojo]

If Acie was the next Devin Harris, he would be getting a lot more PT.

I think if Acie were on the Nets he would get more play time. It doesn't make sense to play flip and evans as much as Woody does with their often lack of production and rot Acie on the bench. I hope he is traded just to get an opportunity to prove he is effective or ineffective. I don't see how anyone could speculate on skill based on the limited data given.

He hasn't played enough minutes and is not given any latitude to make decisions when he is playing. Maybe his problem is that he conforms too much to the role Woody has decided he should play - never taking chances.

[mrhonline]

Did the OP just compare Acie Law to Devin Harris?

Devin Harris, one of the quickest players in the NBA? One of the better defenders at the 1? A guy who has worked his butt off to become a better perimeter shooter?

Acie Law is nothing more than a backup PG on 30 teams in the NBA. He's not worth all of this ado.

[TnDawg]

Acie Law is nothing more than a backup PG on 30 teams in the NBA. He's not worth all of this ado.

While this is true considering AC's current use and production.... that doesn't diminish the relevance of this topic. Considering how the Hawks are performing so far this season, I can understand not rocking the boat. However, as a fan are we just suppose to be satisfied with being reasonably good for one season or is it OK to have an eye towards the future. Personally I have my doubts about whether the Hawks will commit the dollars necessary to resign Bibby. We have to (should) keep JJ, Marvin and Horford long term. There is only going to be so much cash to spend. Woody needs to be grooming a replacement for Bibby... just in case. Regardless of what we think of AC's potential... he is the only guy we have on THIS team that can fill that role. It doesn't make sense to preach continuity and growth without grooming someone young to run the team with the rest of the guys.

[mrhonline]

If Mike Bibby leaves, the Hawks will sign a PG to start in his place. Acie Law will not be the starter next year.

He's a 24 y.o. PG that has shown virtually nothing on a consistent basis. He's a scoring PG that hasn't been that successful at scoring. Solomon Jones has shown more on the NBA-level than Acie Law.

[Kimsey]

Stuckey had the privaledge with playing with a veteran team in his rookie season. The Hawks had the opposite situation last season. Woody was so worried about his job I wonder if any rookie PG (or in Stuckey's case, combo guard) would have gotten a chance.

Stuckey came out the gate ballin'. If Acie doesn't understand with his limited playing time he needs to be ultra aggressive then there's nothing that can be done. He knows he gets crumbs for minutes so why not force things, it can't get any worse than the 5 or so minutes he gets now or lately the "coach's decision" by his name in the box score.

He's a scoring guard, plays with one of the best scoring guards in the league. His jumpshot is unrecyleable thrash, he has unlimited access to one of the purest shooters of his generation who happens to have played his position. The resources are there but it's up to him.

[Iman]

I don't agree with most of these posts/opinions.

I don't see how anyone not at team practices can really say what Acie is as an NBA player because we haven't seen near enough of him to say for sure. In what limited action I've seen, I think Acie has a great chance to be a very solid starting NBA point. I also think Solo has improved enough to be a likely good NBA backup but I'm also not sure in his case since I haven't seen enough of him either.

As mentioned in other posts, maybe Woody isn't playing these guys due to lack of skills or effort in practice. I personally don't think that, I think Woody just hates playing inexperienced players. Of course he played our young core but it's not like he had much choice with those guys. Woody wants to win each game, even if it costs him longterm by wearing out the vets or not playing the young guys.

Who knows, maybe Woody's more devious minded than I give him credit for. Maybe he knows that not playing Acie more insures that our GM will bring back Bibby who he likes. Maybe the same sorta applies to not using Solo.

Either way, I have very little doubt that management considers Acie part of our future, it's just a Woody issue.

[hawkman]

Stuckey came out the gate ballin'. If Acie doesn't understand with his limited playing time he needs to be ultra aggressive then there's nothing that can be done. He knows he gets crumbs for minutes so why not force things, it can't get any worse than the 5 or so minutes he gets now or lately the "coach's decision" by his name in the box score.

He's a scoring guard, plays with one of the best scoring guards in the league. His jumpshot is unrecyleable thrash, he has unlimited access to one of the purest shooters of his generation who happens to have played his position. The resources are there but it's up to him.

This post sums up Acie's situation perfectly. He can't be passive during the extremely limited time he gets. He had issues with being passive during his Rookie year and his play has been inconsistent this season as well. Heck, Acie even started a few games last season but there was entirely too much dribbling and not enough production.

[TnDawg]

I don't agree with most of these posts/opinions.

I don't see how anyone not at team practices can really say what Acie is as an NBA player because we haven't seen near enough of him to say for sure. In what limited action I've seen, I think Acie has a great chance to be a very solid starting NBA point. I also think Solo has improved enough to be a likely good NBA backup but I'm also not sure in his case since I haven't seen enough of him either.

As mentioned in other posts, maybe Woody isn't playing these guys due to lack of skills or effort in practice. I personally don't think that, I think Woody just hates playing inexperienced players. Of course he played our young core but it's not like he had much choice with those guys. Woody wants to win each game, even if it costs him longterm by wearing out the vets or not playing the young guys.

Who knows, maybe Woody's more devious minded than I give him credit for. Maybe he knows that not playing Acie more insures that our GM will bring back Bibby who he likes. Maybe the same sorta applies to not using Solo.

Either way, I have very little doubt that management considers Acie part of our future, it's just a Woody issue.

I think this is the case....I totally agree with this post.

[TnDawg]

If Mike Bibby leaves, the Hawks will sign a PG to start in his place. Acie Law will not be the starter next year.

He's a 24 y.o. PG that has shown virtually nothing on a consistent basis. He's a scoring PG that hasn't been that successful at scoring. Solomon Jones has shown more on the NBA-level than Acie Law.

If Bibby leaves (I am leaning more to once he leaves) Acie may or may not be the starting PG next year. Regardless the front office has to consider how much they would be willing to spend on someone else. Without spending money that is needed to maintain the team's core. With the upcoming draft actually being Sunds 1st where he has a chance to make any choices, he may choose to draft a PG. How does that scenario play out considering Woodson's previous choices in developing young point guards (whether a pure one or combo). I don't follow other teams that closely to know who may or may not be available next year, through trades or FA. I am just stating for the chance to maintain chemistry and continual improvement it needs to be addressed. Think back to the days of Mookie and Doc, how often since then that this board has screamed for a consistent quality PG. We really need a guy that will be around for the next few years so the TEAM can go on a run of quality contending seasons. I don't see the Hawk's being in the lottery any time soon so one has to be obtained or developed. Just to be sure... I don't dislike Bibby, but if he is making 17mil this year (correct me if the salary is wrong) what are the chances he will sign for less and accept a 2-3 year deal? I don't think the team can afford to put that much money into him without endangering what we pay the other guys. Maybe I am just guilty of looking to far ahead and not enjoying the ride.

[Iman]

Bibby was an allstar when he signed his big contract. Sacramento practically salary cap dumped him to us. I think Bibby understands that he'll have to sign a much smaller contract. It reminds me a lot of the situation with Shareef a few years ago who signed a MLE contract after we traded him. Bibby will at least be offered the MLE. If he keeps playing this well and is uninjured all year he might even get an offer starting at $10 mil per but I doubt it goes any higher than that especially since that will require a team under the cap to make the offer.

[Cwell]

Bibby was an allstar when he signed his big contract. Sacramento practically salary cap dumped him to us. I think Bibby understands that he'll have to sign a much smaller contract. It reminds me a lot of the situation with Shareef a few years ago who signed a MLE contract after we traded him. Bibby will at least be offered the MLE. If he keeps playing this well and is uninjured all year he might even get an offer starting at $10 mil per but I doubt it goes any higher than that especially since that will require a team under the cap to make the offer.

Bibby hasn't been an All-Star in his entire career.